The NIPC was established after a national report issued
last October which highlighted the growing dangers posed by
high-tech sabotage and cyber-attack to industries such as banking, finance, communications, information technology, and energy.

The FBI now is investigating a case that is an example of high-tech crime

Agents raided two homes in Cloverdale, California,
north of San Francisco Wednesday looking for clues to a
computer hacking case that appeared to relate to a string of
attacks on U.S. military computer systems this month.

Two teen-age boys are suspected of having a hand in
the attacks, which officials have called "the most organized
and systematic attack the Pentagon has seen to date."

One important role for the center, Reno said, will be to
distinguish genuine threats to national security from relatively harmless attacks by juvenile hackers, such as apparently occurred in the Pentagon case.

Reno played down the Big Brother aspects of an Internet police force.

"We must not and we will not sacrifice any constitutional
protections," the attorney general said.

To fund the new center, Reno will ask for $64 million next year to staff the center with 125 people, including six investigative squads and more federal prosecutors specializing in cyber-crime.

David Wagner, a computer security researcher who made headlines by breaking into Netscape's Web site two and a half years ago, said: "I don't think it will keep hackers away. But maybe we can incrementally improve our system if we have some extra help from this extra law enforcement office."

One expert said that without strong prevention measures like the high-tech center, an electronic Pearl Harbor is inevitable.